A good friend of
mine fell in with some Libertarian’s and has never been the same since.
I was excited about
the idea of a new and replacement reigning American political party for about a
minute.
It is still and will probably always be a possibility. I have no idea
what is taking so long or what it is finally going to take.
I am still excited
for my friend even if I do not feel inspired to follow his lead.
When I was done
looking at the platform for the party I realized there were things I liked and things I was missing.
Platform Issues:
Fiscal
responsibility
Civil Liberties
Rights and freedoms
for the individual
Restrict
international military activity
Social Security Opt
Out
Smaller Government
For as much as there
are certain political issues that hit everyone right where they live there are
just as many issues that are further removed. I live largely in that place.
This means it does
not matter to my daily living who is president or which political party has
control of the house and senate.
Everyday I wake up and have a choice to check
in or be checked out of my local society.
I can work, go to school
or stay home. I can volunteer or keep to myself. I determined that these
choices I was making close to home would have more impact than if I threw
myself behind a new party.
Campaigning for them
did not seem like something that would change my life for the better so I
declined to affiliate with them.
It was a tad
disappointing. Human beings like joining things as I mentioned in previous
posts.
It would have been exciting to find something that was really an ideal
fit and maybe feel like I could impact the world.
My friend and I are
on different paths. Last I heard he was deeply involved with the local
movement, volunteering and helping get the word out on public access
television.
I commend him while
at the same time maintaining that the average American I know can do more in
their neighborhoods aside from whatever political party they choose to throw
their weight behind.
It was around this
time if not before I became aware not just that some people are die hard R or D
for life by tradition but also that there are one issue voters and the like.
I can almost
understand that since I do believe there are a few issues worth staking a claim
even unto death over.
As a Libertarian, I obviously think it's the best political ideology out there :P It's balanced, has both liberal and conservative ideals (and so is targeted by both major parties).
ReplyDeleteBut I find that practicing Libertarianism is best done on an individual level, in daily life. Trying to apply it to government will only result in corruption and complacency. It will inevitably take on all of the negative values inherent to government, politics, and power. I have also found that those who claim Libertarianism, who get really wrapped up in politics, often tend to lose the "live and let live" ideal. For them it's an "us versus them" campaign against the other parties. Yuck!
That's why I'm politically inactive. I really believe that there is much work to do, but the work is best done in our everyday lives (and perhaps in local politics), not at the national or state level, though there are definitely people who are suited to big politics and should definitely pursue that end, like your friend has decided to do.
Thank you, nice to have you drop by the blog. I can't be totally inactive. I still feel the need to vote every now and again. I think our votes still count despite all the corruption and bureaucracy. We shall see what happens in November this year. Until then all eyes are watching and waiting for the next sound bite.
DeleteI know my brother was a political until Obama was elected. With that he was jolted and took it upon himself to be at the inauguration.
I like the subtle influence national politics can have on every day life and activism. There is something about aging that helps immensely as well it seems.
I can't help but think I might be the friend you're referencing Tosca. And I have done some local work. Right now I just do facebook activism. I've always been interested in big picture politics but the years I spent active in the LP were very rewarding.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting you have a picture of Ron Paul who did run years ago as a Libertarian. Although I consider Ron Paul a conservative, I campaigned for him in '08 because he had a very solid record of small government and civil liberties votes as a long time House member. His position on the drug wars is libertarian but he's very pro-life and most libertarians are pro-choice as is the LP platform.
Anyway, at the risk of being "so vain," I did think this blog was about me so felt compelled to reply. Take care.
Yes Sir, lol I thought about having you do a guest piece since this is your area of expertise but I muddled along. Was not sure you would see the post or want to be outed.
DeleteI added the pics I did because I think Americans would have a broad associative knowledge of him with the party. I found much like what J.R. mentioned a lot of mixed views on the issues which is part of what makes the party so interesting and attractive.